$496m US government aircraft contract for Rolls-Royce

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Harriet Green

Aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce has been awarded two contracts totally up to $496m (£309m) to provide parts for US government aircraft. (Release)

The company will support T56 engines, which it's been making since the 1950s, with a $406m (£253) six-year contract to provide parts and field and engineering support for thousands of engines. The contract, awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency, will support approximately 1,000 aircraft across US Aur Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Control and international fleets.

A second contract from the US Navy for up to $90m includes repairs for E-2 Hawkeye aircraft.

Paul Craig, Rolls-Royce, president of Defense Services, said:

These contracts demonstrate our continued success in supporting our customers and the thousands of Rolls-Royce T56 engines powering their operations. Our mission remains the same: to keep these fleets in the air as their operators require, and we will continue to focus on innovative solutions to provide affordable support for our customers.

The company has also received a lift after Japan Airlines announced its watershed decision to order 31 Airbus A350 XWB, which use Rolls-Royce engines.

The Airbus jet order comes with a combined $9.5bn list price and includes options for an additional 25 A350s. The deal follows a competitive battle between planemakers and marks a breaking of Boeing's wide-body monopoly, dealing a blow to the market-dominator.